Empire State University (also known as ESU) is a fictional university in the Marvel Comics Universe, a mixture of New York University and Columbia University (whose campus was used in the film adaptations). It is located somewhere in New York City, in Greenwich Village near the site of New York University. Many Marvel Comics characters, especially those associated with Spider-Man, have either attended or worked at the university. It first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965).